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Friday, Aug. 4 10:05pm ET
Owens remains hot for streaking Padres | |||||
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Whether he's been hot or cold, Eric Owens says he likes to come to the plate in a pressure situation. "Regardless if I'm 0-for-4 at the time, I feel I'm an at-bat away from doing something," Owens said after his tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning led the San Diego Padres past the Chicago Cubs 11-9 Friday night. San Diego stretched its longest winning streak of the season to six. "Even if you're going good, you can't let up," Owen said. "Obviously, if you're hitting well, you'll have a little more confidence because you feel you can handle the pitches." Owens recorded his sixth consecutive multihit game -- going 2-for-5 -- when he singled off Felix Heredia with the bases loaded to break a 9-9 tie. Owens is 15-for-28 during the streak. "Before in July, I wasn't giving myself chances per at-bat," Owens said. "That's the thing. You have to get yourself good chances, and if you hit the ball hard, you're usually going to end up with a couple of hits. When you throw at-bats away, slumps happen." The Padres, on their best streak since winning a club-record 14 straight games last season, trailed 9-8 before tying the game in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to pinch hitter Joe Vitiello. Owens followed with a single to center. "We made only one mistake (to Owens) and it costs us the game," said the Cubs' Sammy Sosa, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. "That was a tough one, to have a chance to win and come out a little short." Carlos Almanzar (3-3) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 34 chances. "We're just playing good ball right now," Owens said. "It seems we're getting more confident. We're coming back when we get down in games." Steve Rain (3-1) allowed three runs, while getting only two outs, to take the loss. Cubs starter Jon Lieber gave up eight runs and 10 hits in five innings but got a no-decision, keeping his career-high five-game winning streak alive. "He wasn't sharp," Chicago manager Don Baylor said. "When he gives up that many hits and that many runs in a short amount of time, you know he doesn't have his good stuff." Joe Girardi went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, a season-high four RBIs, and scored three runs for the Cubs. Jay Witasick, acquired Monday from Kansas City, allowed seven runs and nine hits in five innings in his San Diego debut. Witasick was in line for the win until Chicago scored twice off Todd Erdos to take a 9-8 lead in the sixth. "Not too many managers like these kind of games," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "But I know the fans do. We had home runs, comebacks and clutch hits." Sosa put the Cubs ahead 9-8 with a two-run single in the sixth. Witasick failed to hold 2-0 and 7-3 leads yet left the game with a 8-7 edge, provided by Damian Jackson's RBI single in the fifth. With Witasick's appearance, San Diego set a club record by using 49 players this season, breaking the mark set in 1991. The Padres, who gave up four runs to fall behind 4-2 in the top of the third, took a 7-4 lead in the bottom half as Ryan Klesko hit a two-run homer and Ruben Rivera added a three-run shot. But Chicago answered with three runs to tie it in the fourth when Girardi hit a two-run single and later scored on a throwing error by Klesko at first base. Game notesThe Padres acquired SS Desi Relaford from Philadelphia for a player to be named. Relaford batted .221 with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 83 games. ... To make room on the roster for Relaford, the Padres optioned infielder Kevin Nicholson to Triple-A Las Vegas. ... San Diego also transferred right-handed pitcher Steve Montgomery to the 60-day DL. ... The Cubs' Kerry Wood, who missed a start Thursday because of cramps in his left side, is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Los Angeles. ... Chicago, which fell 6-5 to San Diego on Thursday, lost back-to-back games for the first time since the All-Star break. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 5 Kansas City 4
San Diego 11
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